Motorists scrambled to take shelter in a building as a tornado hit a town in the Philippines.

Frantic motorcycle riders rushed to push their two-wheelers inside an office as the twister struck Santo Domingo town in Ilocos Sur province on August 30.

Howling winds and strong rain soon battered the area.

Terrified resident Jaynet Mangay-ayam said: 'I've been living here since I was a child and I've never experienced a strong tornado like this one.'

Local disaster officials said the tornado had destroyed three houses in San Ildefonso town. No casualties or injuries were reported.

A tornado is a violent rotating column of air that connects the earth and a storm cloud. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the rise of warm, humid air and the fall of cooler air inside a thunderstorm create spinning currents that condense into a visible whirling funnel.

Tornadoes spawned from supercell thunderstorms are the most common, and often the most damaging.

The Philippines and neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia are in their annual monsoon rainy season which sees soaring temperatures followed by powerful rain storms in the afternoon leading to widespread flash floods.